St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-11

structure and will be quite an ornament
to the district that has been fortunate
enough to secure 1t. The building is
being erected on lot 100 feet by 14O feet
and it will be three story building with
a high basement. The style of its archi-
lecture is modern Romanesque and the
architects are the well known firm of
Messrs. Long & KEGS, of the Kasota
block.
Minneapolis, as far as the number of
the books she contains is concerned, is
not behind any city in the Northwest,
but she has labored under the disad-
vantage of not having a central location
in the shape of public library where
the general mass of the people could
benefit by the collection of books of
history and reference, such as Chicago,
Milwaukee and other cities possess.
The best known library in the city is
the Athen8um, on Hennepin avenue, a
few doors from NicOllet avenue. In a
pleasant conversation had with Herbert
Putnam. its librarian, a few days ago,
Oldest libraries in the city, having
originally been established in 1850.
1t now comprises in round
numbers 5000 volumes and it is espec-
tally rich in works of travel, history and
biography. In works on science it is
weak, but this is being remedied as fast
as possible. Modern literature is well
represented, as there are over 100
periodicals received weekly and
monthly. This library is the property
OF stock corporation, and derives its
revenue from real estate which even
now yields them an annual return of
$1,000, which sum goes to the purchas-
ing of new books yearly for the library.
n a re- 70
this: Any well behaved person can 60
and sit and read in the room any book
or paper free, and should he desire to
take single copy of book home he
can do SO for the minimum price of rs
cents for three months. A visit to the
Athen8um reveals good many inter-
esting features. The building out
wardly has a worn, ancient look about
sit that seems out of place amid the
garish looking buildings that surround
it. Entering its doorway and passing
up It's It's dlngy stairway leads
to the main room, a YER
A Silly silence reignS within the room,
and on either side of:.the passer-by are
ranged long seats, where youth and
hoary age may be seen sitting side by
side. What strange companionship
can be witnessed of books as well as in
dividuals. An old man, grey-headed
and bent. could be seen coming an
ancient, musty-loOking history of
France, and the picture across from the
page where he read depicted the arrest
of Voltaire. Next to him sat a young
man of clerical aspect, who pored over
the pages of Buffers Analogy of Re-
ligion: and side by side with this latter
gentleman sat typical young English
m ho6
the old land, as his red cheeks and
manly aspect in general proclaimed the
healthy cline of England, and, besides,
he was highly interested in copy of
the latest London Graphic. This Athe-
naum library will form the nucleus of
the public one when its opens next
spring. A special feature of it will be
a full, complete and accurate COLLECTION
of local records, which will en-
brace everything of interest relating
to pioneer days of the city and state in
the shape of back numbers of the State.
Journal and other newspapers and doc
uments. Some misapprehension has
been expressed as to the location of the
new public library-about its not being
central enough, but Mr.. Putnam gave
the assurance that this need trouble no
one as branch offices will be established
in every district in the city and SO the
necessity of going to headquarters every
time a book is to be changed will not be
necessary. In addition to this Athe-
n@um library there is the public school
collection of 5000 volumes; the State
University library of 10000 volumes,
chiefly of reference books; the library
of the Bar association, which is very eX-
tenslve and, of course, is almost exclu-
sively legal one; and then there is the
library of the Y. NJ. G. A. people, in the
Syndicate block, which must not be
overlooked, as they possess little ag-
gregation of books numbering about
500 and very fine list of daily and
weekly exchanges, illustrated papers